Wednesday, January 22, 2014

And We Wonder Why Bottle Shows are Declining

I had an interesting phone call this morning. It was from the California State Board of Equalization. For those of you that are not familiar with the state BOE its the California Franchise Tax Board, you know, the folks that collect your sales tax if you have a legitimate business here in California.

The nice lady from the BOE asked me if I was selling at the Anderson Bottle Show this weekend. I replied yes, I am going to try and sell something at the show, but the possibility of making a sale is always in question. This reply sort of set her back for a moment but she recovered while I was wondering how in the heck did she know I had purchased a sales table at the Anderson Bottle Show.

It seems that since my business location is here in Downieville, and I am now going to sell in Anderson for the weekend, I will have to register the Fairgrounds in Anderson as a second location for my business. And to add icing to the cake every other bottle show in California that I sell at will have to be listed as another location for my business. Hell, my little chicken shit business is now becoming a multi location major red flag for the State Board of Equalization to zero in on.

The increasing pressure the State BOE is putting on small organized collectible shows is not a California only issue. If you sell at the Reno Bottle Show you will need a City of Reno sellers permit to the tune of $15.00 and as a seller you are supplied with a tax form that you fill out, and based on the sales you have claimed to have made, pay the tax right there and then at the show.

Do you think that the State BOE, the City of Reno or any other entity that is collecting taxes is going to get the sales tax on a mint green Drakes Plantation Bitters that sells at a bottle show? If you believe that the tax on that transaction is claimed I have a bridge you might be interested in.

I will be selling at Anderson this weekend right after I re-price my bottles to include the 7.5% sales tax the city of Anderson is asking for.

14 comments:

I am a resident of the state of "XXXXX". "XXXXX" does not have a sales tax; one of the few things that still make "XXXXX" an attractive place to live.

I do an occasional show in the late great state of California; specifically Auburn, Anderson, Antioch, and a one off here and there. All require sellers, regardless of the state of residency, to obtain a resellers permit.

In order to comply with the law, I called the Cal. State BOE in Sacramento prior to the Auburn Show a couple of years ago and applied for a temporary sellers permit. When it arrived, I noted the postage on the mountain of paperwork that they'd mailed me to make sure that they received their pound of flesh; $4~ dollars and change.

Sales were all but non existent and to add insult to injury, I lost four figures worth of bottles due to theft. Hardly a profit center... In March I received a nasty gram from the State because I'd failed to file a return with them. Based on the verbiage, they like to play hardball. My first inclination was to blow them off. Instead, I called to set the record straight. Mistake number 1.

When asked what my sales were, I responded with the negative net loss amount that I'd suffered. Did I sell anything? "Well I delivered a couple of items that had been pre-sold over the phone up here." (If the item is delivered in California regardless of where it originated - it counts as a sale in California), Did I sell anything off the table. "Well, yes, a couple of items to the tune of a hundred bucks and change." Well sir, you owe "X" number of dollars in taxes, fees, fines and late charges due to your failure to report. "But I lost well over a grand when the dust settled!" Doesn't matter, if you did any business in California, you need to report and pay the taxes on what you sold (losses due to theft and breakage don't count) in a timely manner or face the consequences.

Some time later, I did another show in Cal. I obtained another temporary resellers permit. Another $4~ and change for the BOE to send the crap to me. I blanked at the show, but still enriched the coffers of the State of California in the form of fuel, lodging, and meal purchases. Smarter this time, I mailed in the report showing zero sales. Not too long after I'd mailed them the report, I got a call from someone at the BOE wanting to "verify" that I'd sold nothing.

It's no wonder California is broke. They run off business, spend piles of cash mailing tons of worthless cat box fodder and then spend countless man hours pissing off out of state residents in an attempt to intimidate them into paying "their fair share". Keep it up California. You're a poster child for inefficiency and big brother.

What a bunch of crap what next will they post a sheriff at the door to check receipts I have not seen a post regarding Ken`s open house but Teeny will be opening up Ken`s room from 6-10 Friday nightBill C.

Well check this out..... A digging friend of mine sent in his 2011 sales tax after the Auburn show, showing $7200 in sales.fine and dandy, same show in 2012, he didnt have much to sell and turned in taxes for $210. Cal state BOE called him andstated he must have had better sales then that, and stated that they could subpoena his banking records for any and allbank accounts in his name for up to 6 weeks after the shows date..... He told them to get _ucked and he will never do a show in California again. Did i here someone say Parking lot tables?

To quote my closing statement in the 6 month long IRS audit; I've worked my entire life and paid my fair share. I've never worked under the table and have always erred in the IRS's favor at tax time. You have spent, no wasted, nearly $100,000.00 of both my and the taxpayers money in this witch hunt and have found no discrepancies. Short of an anal probe, you "The IRS", have done everything in your power to prove that I am a crook. You have turned over every rock and looked behind every bush for proof of tax evasion that never existed.

You have gotten 100% of your fair share, and more, for my entire adult life. Effective now, you have killed a cash cow. You will now get 100% of nothing because I give up. I'm done working to support a government that considers taxpayers to be guilty until proven innocent.

Based on these same type of experiences which have happened to me over the past couple of years, I am going to be a "parking lot seller" in California, and Nevada. Hate to do it as I like to support the shows, but this issue has the potential to make one's life a living HELL. Once you get on the radar, it is done. You will be forever under scrutiny and guilty until proven innocent. Sucketh. WGA

The Democrats have turned the State Govt into a tax thirsty addicted whore......... who never can get enough of our hard earned money to support all of their entitlement programs ! They will tax, redristribute, and squander our money until the people stop voting with their bleeding hearts and start placing more importance on individual financial responsibility ! Nuff said...........

What a bunch of winers geez just pay the tax if it wasn`t for the liberal democrat all the illegals, dopers, and low life people that have never worked would have to get jobs and isn`t that illegal in California lol then they would have to pay taxes golly this is so confusing I would rather bottle talk

I have been fililng out the forms for doing several shows for a few years now.I throw them a cookie now and then .. However now that I have this multi location business I deduct my expense to do it ,It more than offsets the sales tax I pay.I have been audited and came out clean. What the state does is make us game the system.

And one more thing...If we had tax cuts under Bush for 8 yrs.(which we did) shouldn't the economy have been booming after that? That's what you republicans keep saying. I'd rather pay taxes to help people than throw trillions down a rat hole in the middle east. I have been a member of AA and sober for 25 yr's. I'm now seeing a whole new crop of guys coming in with ptsd problems. WW1 good war. WW11 good war. !st gulf war good war. Second gulf war ? Afgahanistan? I We as a people have to learn that when things don't go our way we don't have to whine like babies. Same thing when talking about archeologists. They represent the entire state not 4 or 5 hundred (or less) antique bottle collectors. Nobody is out to get us. They have better things to do.

This is a bottle site not a political ranting place. As far as taxes on collectibles, they were already taxed, first time sold. don't need to be taxed again. Instead of rantng here call your state political hack, and rant at him..........

The reply that just pay! Now does that not sound familiar! Sounds like someone whom worked for the government! Someone else forgot the" Vietnam War", as usual! I quit going to shows to setup because of the harassment from the State Board of Equalization! The same with my mining claims which I paid fees on every year for over 30 years; abandoned because of harassment from another government agency-USFS. Everything is political because our government has created such when dealing with taxpayers!

WTF: How can anyone call a war “good” when lives are lost and countries destroyed. Or taxes when we’re taxed to death in this country to fund political b.s. like wars and other wasteful spending perpetrated on to us by our government that we have to pay for. I’m happy for your 25 years sober but I think the alcohol fried your brain.

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